Breathe
by Ivyshadow
Summary: Percabeth songfic! Maybe a tiny bit of Lukabeth if you twist it. R&R!


**My first PJO songfic! I hope it turns out good… The song is "Breathe" by Taylor Swift (featuring Colbie Caillat). Takes place at the end of The Last Olympian, but a few things are changed. Here goes nothing! Enjoy!**

**Bold italics for lyrics, _bold for my notes, _**_italics for character thoughts and flashbacks,_regular for present tense in the story.

**-Ivy**

_**x x x x x x x x x x**_

_**I see your face in my mind as I drive away**_

_**Cause none of us thought it was gonna end that way**_

_**But people are people and sometimes we change our minds**_

_**But it's killing me to see you go after all this time**_

_**Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm**_

_**Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm**_

I lay crumpled on the ground. Grover kneeled beside me, while Percy was fighting Kronos somewhere in the room. I had tried to reason with Kronos—I mean Luke—but it hadn't worked. He had thrown me against Athena's throne, probably breaking a few of my ribs. But I couldn't tell.

Grover moved, darting toward the fight. A moment later, I saw him flying through the air, before landing with a sickening thud on the ground. He didn't move.

That really got me mad. I had to help them! But what use was I like this, lying here on the ground?

Then Riptide, Percy's sword, was knocked out of his hand. Luke was about to hurt Percy! I would not let that happen. Just as it clattered to the ground, I leaped to my feet and dashed to Percy's side. "STOP!" I shouted.

Luke spun on me. I drew my dagger just in time; our hilts were locked between us. I pushed with all of my strength, stopping him. If I could just hold for a few seconds…

"Luke," I hissed through my teeth. "I understand now. You have to trust me." I finally understood the prophecy. I had to make Luke understand, too.

"Luke Castellan is dead!" Kronos shouted. "His body will burn away as I assume my true form!" He pushed against my knife.

My arms trembled with the effort of holding my position. I could not stop now. Just a few more seconds to explain…

"You mother—She saw you fate."

"Service to Kronos! This is my fate!"

The exhaustion of the past few days, with my recent injuries from being thrown across the room, plus the emotion stress right now, made tears well up in my eyes. "No!" I shouted back at Luke. "That's not the end, Luke. The prophecy: she saw what you would do. It applies to you!" I insisted.

"LIES!" Luke put all his force into shoving against my blade. I stumbled, and he struck. He hit my face, and I fell to the ground. Luke towered over me, sword poised over my neck.

Blood and tears trickled down my face. "Family, Luke. You promised," I whispered, barely able to hear myself.

Luke staggered. He stared at me, his eyes sad.

"Promise," I repeated, with more conviction.

Luke looked pained. He staggered forward and gasped, "Annabeth…" and it was actually his voice.

_**Music starts playing like the end of a sad movie**_

_**It's the kind of ending you don't really wanna see**_

_**Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down**_

_**Now I don't know what to be without you around**_

_**And we know it's never simple, never easy**_

_**Never a clean break, no one here to save me**_

_**You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand**_

_"Annabeth!" Chiron's voice cut through the peacefully silence by the lake. I jumped up._

_"Yes, Chiron? What's wrong?"_

_"It's Percy. He's been hurt."_

_My heart stopped, then picked up in double time. I dashed past Chiron and sprinted through camp. Demigods dodged out of the way. They probably could tell that I would run them over if they didn't move._

_Breathing heavily, I burst into the healing ward. It was empty, except to the bed farthest from the door. Dashing to his side, I shouted, "Percy!"_

_His eyes fluttered open._

_My face lit up in a smile. "You're alright!" My voice made it obvious that I really cared about the stupid Seaweed Brain._

_Percy nodded weakly. "Annabeth, it was Luke."_

_The name made me freeze. Did Percy know how I felt? Probably. It wasn't really a secret that I liked Luke. But that could be a problem with Percy. Trying to seem normal, I asked nonchalantly, "What was Luke?"_

_Percy gestured vaguely toward himself. "The one who attacked me."_

_"What?" I shrieked. "No! That's a lie! Luke would never attack another camper! Percy, you take that back right now!"_

_"How can I take back the truth," he whispered solemnly. "Annabeth, he turned to Kronos' side. He's evil, Annabeth. Luke is evil."_

_I shook my head. My mind could not comprehend what Percy was saying. "No, he isn't!" Tears welled up in my eyes. Spinning away from the bed so Percy would not see, I shouted, "You're a liar!" then ran from the room._

_**And I can't breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have to**_

_**Breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have you**_

_I sat curled in a ball in the corner of my cabin. Thankfully no one else was there. I rocked myself back and forth, tears streaming down my cheeks._

_Someone knocked on the door. "Annabeth?" It was Chiron. Probably here to make me apologize to Percy. Well, too bad. I wasn't going anywhere._

_Luke had always been my anchor. He was the one who had taken me in after my parents kicked me out. He was the one who had brought me to Camp Half-Blood and taken care of me. Now I felt like I couldn't live without him._

_"Annabeth, Percy wants to talk to you," Chiron called._

_"Tell him to go away!" I shouted back. Seaweed Brain can just be miserable for a while. I knew I would be miserable for more than just a while. As angry as I was, I wanted to apologize for yelling at Percy._

_"Annabeth?" A new voice called from the door. Percy. "Annabeth, I just want to talk."_

_"So talk," I said bluntly._

_I heard a sigh. "Fine. Listen, I wanted to apologize for being so… rude earlier."_

_I turned toward the door, startled. I rubbed my face with my hands, trying to make the tears go away. I pushed myself off the floor and trudged to the door. I pulled it open._

_Percy flinched. I must have looked terrible. Wow, thanks, Seaweed Brain. Now I feel even better._

_"Annabeth, I'm really sorry." His sincerity was hard to doubt._

_I sighed. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay mad at him for long. "I forgive you. Sorry for calling you a liar." I looked down at the ground, new tears spilling over._

_Percy stepped forward. "Hey, don't cry…" He hesitated, then entered the cabin. Percy slowly wrapped his arms around me._

_I threw my arms around him, crying into his shoulder. "Not your fault—Luke was family—I'm so sorry!" I blurted out between sobs._

_"Hey, you'll be fine."_

_Eventually I controlled myself. I pulled away from Percy and gave a tiny smile. "Thanks. For everything."_

_**Never wanted this, never want to see you hurt**_

_**Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve**_

_**But people are people and sometimes it doesn't work out**_

_**Nothing we say's gonna save us from the fall out**_

"Annabeth… You're bleeding…" Luke said.

"My knife." I thought my arm was broken, but I had to give the knife to Percy. I raised my arm with the dagger clasped in my hand. I gasped and the knife fell to the ground. Yep, definitely broken. Luke had to get the knife. It was part of the prophecy. I looked up at Percy, a pleading expression on my face. "Percy, please…"

Percy rose and picked up the dagger. He knocked Luke's sword into the hearth behind them.

Luke stepped toward me. Percy cut him off, sliding in his way. "Don't touch her," he said protectively, brandishing my dagger at Luke.

"Jackson…" Kronos' voice came from Luke's mouth. His body seemed to glow. It was happening. Luke had to get the knife now, before it was too late.

Luke gasped, "He's changing. Help. He's… he's almost ready. He won't need my body anymore. Please—"

Kronos' voice again: "NO!" He spun, looking for his sword. Seeing it in the fire, he staggered forward. Percy stepped toward him, and was knocked away, landing next to me.

My breath was coming out in tiny gasps. "The knife, Percy." I had to make him understand the prophecy before I passed out. "Hero…" I muttered, barely retaining consciousness. "Cursed blade…"

Luke lifted his sword out of the flames, then shouted and dropped it back in. His hands were burned, smoke curling off his skin. "Please, Percy…"

Percy moved toward him, wielding my knife. The stupid Seaweed Brain hadn't understood what I was trying to tell him!

Luke spoke in short gasps, "You can't… can't do it yourself. He'll break my control. He'll defend himself. Only my hand. I know where. I can… can keep him controlled." He inhaled sharply as his skin began glowing brighter.

Grover ran to my side. He kneeled over me, shielding me from Luke and Percy.

Percy looked at me. Our eyes locked. The air was barely going into my lungs. My gaze was begging. He nodded, and handed the dagger to Luke. Finally, he understood.

"Percy? Are you… um…" Grover trailed off as Luke pulled off his breastplate, tossing it to the side. Raising the knife, Luke looked at me. Then he stabbed himself.

My eyes squeezed shut as Luke howled in pain. Suddenly, the room exploded with a bright flash. Heat waves surged past me.

My eyes fluttered open. Luke was lying on the ground, surrounded by ash. His left side was covered in blood. His breathing was very shallow. His eyes, blue eyes like they used to be, were barely open. He muttered, "Good… blade."

I leaned on Grover for support and limped over to Luke. I knew these were his last few breaths.

"You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew…" He looked at me, straining to breathe.

"Shh." I swallowed painfully. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium." I was sure of it. He deserved that, after everything he had done for us.

"Think… rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest," he murmured.

I smiled sadly. "You always pushed yourself too hard." I touched Luke's burned hand.

"Did you…" Luke coughed, and a trickle of blood ran out of the corner of his mouth. It pained me to see him like this. Luke continued speaking with difficulty, "Did you love me?"

_**And we know it's never simple, never easy**_

_**Never a clean break, no one here to save me**_

_**You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand**_

_**And I can't breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have to**_

_**Breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have you**_

_I heard voices on the other side of the sheet of metal. Suddenly, the wall disappeared and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were standing there, weapons raised._

_I leaped toward them, my hammer ready to strike._

_"Whoa!" the boy shouted. He caught my wrist, twisting my weapon out of my hand._

_"No more monsters! Go away!" I shouted, kicking._

_"It's okay! Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."_

_The girl tapped her shield, and it shrank into a bracelet. "Hey, it's all right," she said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."_

_"Monsters!" I shouted._

_"No, but we know all about monsters. We fight them too."_

_My eyes widened. "You're like me?"_

_Luke spoke. "Yeah. We're… well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"_

_"My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."_

_Luke and Thalia exchanged a glance. Thalia said, "What's your name, kiddo?"_

_"Annabeth."_

_Luke grinned. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth, you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you." He offered me his Celestial bronze knife._

_I took it, agreeing to join them. "You're… you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"_

_"You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"_

_"Deal." And with that, I joined the group._

_**It's 2 A.M., feeling like I just lost a friend**_

_**Hope you know it's not easy, easy for me**_

_**It's 2 A.M., feeling like I just lost a friend**_

_**Hope you know this ain't easy, easy for me**_

Luke looked at me, waiting for an answer.

Ever since that time, when I first met him, I had grown closer to Luke. I often felt like I couldn't live without him. I rubbed my cheek with my hand. I finally understood myself. I knew it wouldn't matter what I said to Luke now; he was dying either way. I thought I knew what he wanted to hear, but I couldn't be sure. Maybe it was best to lie and let him die in peace. But I couldn't do that. Not after everything that had happened. I couldn't lie to Luke now.

Swallowing, I said, "There was a time I thought… well, I thought…" I glanced at Percy. I was so glad he was alive… I turned back to Luke, smiling gently. "You were like a brother to me, Luke. But I didn't love you."

He nodded, then winced.

My vision blurred again, and I swayed on my feet. Grover helped me lie down, while Percy spoke to Luke. When my eyesight cleared, Luke was dead.

_**And we know it's never simple, never easy**_

_**Never a clean break, no one here to save me, oh**_

_**I can't breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have to**_

_**Breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have you**_

_**Breathe**_

_**Without you, but I have to**_

_**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, mm, yeah**_

_**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry**_

After the gods came back to the throne room, Percy, Grover, and I headed back down to earth. I hesitated by the entrance to the elevator that would take us down.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Grover stepped in, but Percy hung back with me. He nodded to Grover, who nodded back. The doors closed, and Percy turned to look at me.

"Percy…" I began. "I'm sorry. I know I never believed you about Luke."

Percy shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"It's just… Well, you heard what I said. I used to think I couldn't live without him. But now I understand." Percy opened his mouth to reply, but I held up my hand. "I don't expect you to get it. Just listen."

"Annabeth—" Percy began.

But I shook my head. "Percy…" I took a deep breath. "Percy, I love you."

His mouth dropped. I smiled gently, nodding.

"It's not Luke I can't live without; it's you. I can't breathe without you near me, Percy." I stretched out my arm and touched his cheek.

Percy smiled, holding my hand against his face. "I love you too, Annabeth. And I can't breathe without you either."

_**x x x x x x x x x**_

**So what did you think? Reviews are loved! Constructive criticism is good too. :)**

**-Ivy**

**P.S.- I'm on vacation all next week, so I won't be posting then. But I am working on my other stories and I'll write while I'm away, then type it up and post it when I get back. See you soon!**


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